The Tool Desk
Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Saving for retirement teaches you to protect a balance; retirement asks you to use it. That reversal can make spending feel wrong even after decades of careful planning. The unease is understandable: no one knows exactly how long retirement will last, what health care will cost, or what unexpected bills may arise. It is also not, by itself, proof that you should avoid spending or that a particular withdrawal is safe.
Why spending can feel like breaking a lifelong rule
For years, a growing account balance can stand for security, discipline and future choice. Once paychecks stop, the same balance has a different job: it must help fund life over an uncertain number of years. Watching it decline can feel like losing safety, even when using savings is exactly what those savings were built to do.
In Allianz Life’s U.S. 2026 Annual Retirement Study, about 32% of surveyed retirees said it felt wrong to begin drawing down assets after accumulating them for decades. That finding describes respondents’ feelings; it does not establish why any one person feels reluctant. The survey’s publisher, Allianz Life, quoted its vice president of consumer insights, Kelly LaVigne, saying, “People spend most of their lives building their savings and it can feel uncomfortable or even wrong to spend that money,” (Allianz Life, July 21, 2026).
What people are afraid might happen
The concerns are not just about seeing a smaller number on a statement. They often overlap: a long life could mean more years to fund, while health costs, inflation or an emergency could make those years more expensive than expected.
#1 Best Overall
| Concern | What respondents reported |
|---|---|
| Outliving savings | 50% cited this as a reason for reluctance to spend. |
| High future medical or long-term-care costs | 50% cited this as a reason. |
| Unforeseen expenses, such as home repairs or emergencies | 50% cited this as a reason. |
| Inflation reducing purchasing power | 48% cited this as a reason. |
These figures come from Allianz Life’s company-sponsored 2026 survey, conducted in January among 1,000 U.S. respondents age 25 and older who met the study’s household-income or investable-asset thresholds. They are not estimates for every retiree. Among working respondents, 71% said they anticipated reluctance to spend in retirement to preserve their account balance; among retirees, 39% reported reluctance for that reason. The groups and questions differ, so those percentages are not a single measure of retirement anxiety. In the same survey, three quarters said it was very difficult to know how much money they would need given changing costs. (Allianz Life, 2026 Annual Retirement Study)
Why caution may have a rational side
Retirement has no known end date
A person cannot know in advance how long savings will need to last. Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago researchers identify uncertain lifespan as one reason older households may retain assets for possible needs later in life. Keeping a reserve can therefore reflect an attempt to manage uncertainty, not simply an inability to enjoy money. (Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, “Savings after Retirement: A Survey,” 2016)
Health and care costs are hard to predict
Medical needs can change with age, and a costly period of care may arrive late in life. The Chicago Fed researchers discuss rising out-of-pocket medical expenses and the possibility of expensive needs at very old ages. Allianz respondents’ concern about medical and long-term-care costs reflects the same uncertainty, but neither source predicts what an individual household will spend.
Rank #2
- Ideal for Gifting
- Ideal for a bookworm
- Compact for travelling
Family and legacy goals can look like underspending
Some people want to leave money to family or avoid relying on their children for future care. The Chicago Fed review identifies bequest motives and concern about burdening children as possible reasons households retain assets. These motives can be difficult to separate from precautionary saving; a low withdrawal rate does not reveal which goal is driving it.
Free tools Windows power users keep installed
One-click scans. No signup required.
Does retirement spending fall right away?
Not necessarily. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s 2020 summary of people who retired between 1992 and 2014 reports that about half had income, savings or non-housing assets sufficient to maintain the same spending level for five consecutive years. Those able to maintain spending in those first five years were associated with larger cuts later. This is a finding about an earlier retirement cohort, not a forecast for current retirees or a target for an individual budget. (CFPB, “Retirement Security and Financial Decision-making: Research Brief,” May 27, 2020)
Patterns also vary by what counts as wealth. A 2025 TIAA Institute paper using Health and Retirement Study data from 1995–2020 reports differences in asset drawdown by asset type and wealth, and excludes housing wealth from its principal measure of financial wealth. Its reported average of $462,000 in non-housing financial wealth at age 65 applies to its analytic sample and measure; it is not a typical-balance benchmark for all retirees. (TIAA Institute, “Asset Decumulation in Retirement: Patterns, Predictors, and the Role of Financial Literacy,” 2025)
More choice can make the decision feel harder
Turning accumulated savings into retirement income involves choices about when and how to access money, how much to keep liquid, and how to manage investment and longevity risks. The UK Department for Work and Pensions’ 2026 report draws on 55 qualitative interviews with people aged 53–67 who had defined-contribution pension pots; 10 also had a defined-benefit pension. Participants’ experiences illustrate the decisions and trade-offs, but the interviews were not designed to represent the wider population. The report does not provide enough comparative product terms to rank particular pension-access options. (UK Department for Work and Pensions, “Pension Decumulation and Decision-making,” 2026)
Rank #4
One way to make the question more concrete is to separate emotional permission from financial calculation. “Am I allowed to spend?” and “How much can I sustainably withdraw?” are related, but they are not the same question. The first involves habits, priorities and feelings about security; the second depends on the household’s resources, income, expenses, taxes, health, investment choices and circumstances. The studies above describe groups and patterns; they do not calculate a safe withdrawal amount for a particular person.
What’s actually slowing this PC down?
Pick the symptom - the matching free tool is one click away.
What to take from the feeling
Reluctance to spend is common in the groups surveyed, but it is not automatically a sign of either good planning or bad planning. It can reflect uncertainty about the future, a lifetime habit of protecting savings, a deliberate wish to preserve assets for family, or some combination of these. Recognizing that feeling can help you name the question you need answered without treating anxiety itself as a spending plan.
Quick Recap
Best Value
- It can be a gift option
- Comes with secure packaging
- Helpful in various ways
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
